Award-Winning Producer-Rapper RZA Joins All-Star Crew of Turntable Legends in DJ Hero® 2

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Sept. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Award winning producer-rapper, world famous DJ and founder of one of rap's most influential groups, The Wu-Tang Clan, RZA will ascend to the virtual stage on October 19 in Activision Publishing, Inc.'s (Nasdaq: ATVI) highly anticipated video game DJ Hero® 2.  Joining a distinguished rank of playable characters appearing in the game, including Deadmau5, David Guetta, DJ Qbert, and Tiesto, RZA also mixed and produced two exclusive tracks featuring LL Cool J "I Can't Live Without My Radio" Mixed With Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five "The Message" and Damian Marley "Welcome To Jamrock" Mixed With Walter Murphy "A Fifth of Beethoven."

"I'm very excited to be involved with DJ Hero 2.  As both a DJ and gamer from an early age, the game combines two of my passions," said RZA.  "I loved working with the team and am excited for the fans to hear the two brand-new mixes I put together just for this game.  Bong bong!"

"RZA rounds out the crew of in-game playable characters representing the biggest and best DJs in hip hop, pop and dance from around the world," said Dan Neil, Music Director, FreeStyleGames.  "These world-renowned DJs, along with our award-winning team at FreeStyleGames, have mixed a host of the biggest hits from the hottest artists today to produce 83 masterpieces that deliver the best soundtrack in entertainment."

The ultimate mixer of music and friends, DJ Hero 2 will deliver the definitive way for players to come together and party with a host of new multiplayer modes – including DJ Battles that pit DJ against DJ in mixes produced specifically for battle gameplay – and invite vocalists into the spotlight with integrated on-screen singing and rapping of lyrics and rhymes while bringing the party to life with jump-in/jump-out Party Play gameplay.  Featuring the biggest dance, pop and hip-hop hits by the hottest artists everyone knows and loves remixed by world-class DJ's in an all-new way, the game's soundtrack delivers 83 unique creations only available in DJ Hero 2.  Further immersing players into the music, the game offers a heightened level of creative input and allows everyone to add their own touch, directly impacting the beats they're spinning with freestyle scratching, crossfading and sampling.  The game will also feature an all-new career-based Empire Mode where players start out as an up-and-coming DJ on the road to becoming the head of a major entertainment empire, all of which is founded solely on their success as a DJ.

Dropping on October 19, DJ Hero 2 will invite a wave of new digital disc jockeys to the turntables as the game will be available as a Party Bundle which will include a copy of the game, two turntable controllers and a microphone, offering the ultimate party-in-a-box.  Gamers who experienced DJ Hero®, the #1 new videogame intellectual property of 2009, can pick up DJ Hero 2 as a Turntable Bundle featuring one turntable controller and a copy of the game or as standalone software.  The game is in development by FreeStyleGames for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, the PLAYSTATION®3 and the Wii™ system from Nintendo.  The game is rated "T" (Teen – Mild Suggestive Themes, Lyrics) by the ESRB.  For more information about DJ Hero 2, please visit www.djhero.com, www.facebook.com/djhero and www.twitter.com/djhero.

About RZA

Most well known as the founder of The Wu-Tang Clan, RZA is fast becoming a recognized as a multi-faceted talent for his rapping, producing, directing, writing, and acting.  As a producer, RZA is responsible for many influential classics such as The Wu Tang Clan's 1993 debut Enter The Wu-Tang 36 Chambers, which is considered to be one of the most influential albums in its genre. Since that album he has created countless solo albums for the group, plus three more group albums.

A writer as well, in his 2005 New York Times bestseller The Wu-Tang Manual, RZA provided the barest glimpse of how that mythology worked. His second book The Tao of Wu, was released in the fall of 2009.  In film, RZA has amassed a number of credits from action to comedy in such films as American Gangster and Funny People.  His next film due for release this November sees him opposite Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianakis in the comedy Due Date.  He is currently in pre-production for The Man with the Iron Fist, a film he is set to Direct and star in, co-written with Eli Roth.

About Activision Publishing, Inc.

Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision Publishing, Inc. is a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and leisure products.

Activision maintains operations in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Spain, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Australia, South Korea, China and the region of Taiwan. More information about Activision and its products can be found on the company's website, www.activision.com.  

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements: Information in this press release that involves Activision Publishing's expectations, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future are forward-looking statements that are not facts and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Activision Publishing generally uses words such as "outlook," "will," "could," "would," "might," "remains," "to be," "plans," "believes," "may," "expects," "intends," "anticipates," "estimate," future," "plan," "positioned," "potential," "project," "remain," "scheduled," "set to," "subject to," "upcoming" and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause Activision Publishing's actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements set forth in this release include, but are not limited to, sales levels of Activision Publishing's titles, shifts in consumer spending trends, the impact of the current macroeconomic environment, the seasonal and cyclical nature of the interactive game market, Activision Publishing's ability to predict consumer preferences among competing hardware platforms, declines in software pricing, product returns and price protection, product delays, retail acceptance of Activision Publishing's products, adoption rate and availability of new hardware (including peripherals) and related software, industry competition including from used games and other forms of entertainment, litigation risks and associated costs, rapid changes in technology, industry standards, business models including online and used games, and consumer preferences, including interest in specific genres such as music, first-person action and massively multiplayer online games, protection of proprietary rights, maintenance of relationships with key personnel, customers, licensees, licensors, vendors, and third-party developers, including the ability to attract, retain and develop key personnel and developers that can create high quality "hit" titles, counterparty risks relating to customers, licensees, licensors and manufacturers, domestic and international economic, financial and political conditions and policies, foreign exchange rates and tax rates, and the identification of suitable future acquisition opportunities and potential challenges associated with geographic expansion, and the other factors identified in the risk factors sections of Activision Blizzard's most recent annual report on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. The forward-looking statements in this release are based upon information available to Activision Publishing and Activision Blizzard as of the date of this release, and neither Activision Publishing nor Activision Blizzard assumes any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements believed to be true when made may ultimately prove to be incorrect. These statements are not guarantees of the future performance of Activision Publishing or Activision Blizzard and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond its control and may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations.

DJ Hero and Activision are registered trademarks of Activision Publishing, Inc.

"PlayStation" is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc.  Microsoft, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox LIVE, and the Xbox logos are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. Wii is a trademark of Nintendo. All rights reserved.

SOURCE Activision Publishing, Inc.

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